In which Apple Maps leads me astray [Updated]

This week, my wife and I decided that it might be time to bite the bullet and buy a new car. Her 10-year-old Toyota Highlander is racking up repairs and probably needs replacing. She wants another Toyota, and so we set out for the nearest dealership Tuesday evening to begin the shopping process.

She drove and I navigated using my iPhone 5. We relied on Apple Maps to get us there.

The Maps app told us the nearest Toyota dealership was near the intersection of the Southwest Freeway (U.S. 59, for those not familiar with Houston) and Fountain View. Specifically, the address was 6015 Skyline Drive. There were even some Yelp reviews for the location, leading us to believe we were headed to the right place.

But when we arrived, there was no auto dealership there. Instead, as indicated by Google Maps’ Street View, we found ourselves at the offices of Houston Uniform & Apparel. I’m sure they’re a fine business, but we needed a new car, not working duds.

No, the Sterling McCall we wanted was farther down the road at 9400 Southwest Freeway, off the Bissonnet exit. Apple Maps routed us there, but the instructions didn’t indicate what exit to take. Disgusted, I switched to Waze, which guided us there perfectly.

So what happened? Why did Apple’s Maps app take us to the wrong place?

It turns out that, at one point, there was a Sterling McCall body shop there. Google Maps indicates it was called Sterling McCall Restoration Center, and that it’s now closed. Indeed, the buildings on Skyline Drive look like they could have been part of an auto repair operation.

Apple Maps gets some of its data from Yelp, the business review site, and that’s apparently what was providing the old information. Exactly when the body shop closed is not clear, but the latest review from Yelp is from February of this year.

If you search for Sterling McCall on Yelp, the first result that comes up is indeed the now-closed Skyline Drive body shop. Of three reviews, only one makes reference to body work. The most recent review talks about buying a car, but I suspect it was left by a customer of the 9400 Southwest Freeway location to posted his thoughts to the wrong location.

I also reported to Yelp that it was closed. I’ll check back periodically to see how quickly Apple fixes it – supposedly, errors are being fixed in a timely manner.

In the meantime, I’ve learned a lesson. I’ll use other apps, and Google’s Web app for iOS, to double-check a location before I rely on my iPhone’s or iPad’s Maps app to guide me there. Once bitten, twice shy.

Update: After reporting the Sterling McCall Restoration Center on Skyline Drive as being closed, Yelp today changed its listing. That was fast.

It’s still showing up as active in Apple’s Maps app, however, along with the Yelp reviews. Tapping the “More Info on yelp” button opens the Yelp app on my iPhone, and if I poke around in it a bit, I get to a screen that says it’s moved, but in a rather cryptic fashion.

Needless to say, 4876380 is not a valid address. Tapping on the “View on Yelp” link finally gets you there, but that’s a lot of work.